In major shift, D.C. residents strongly support legalizing marijuana

Brennan Linsley/Associated Press – Cheyenne Fox attaches radio frequency tracking tags to maturing pot plants inside a grow house at 3D Cannabis Center in Denver on Dec. 31, 2013. A Washington Post poll shows support for legalizing marijuana has expanded in the District.

Support for legalizing marijuana has expanded dramatically in the nation’s capital, with residents who were split evenly on the issue four years ago now favoring sales of the drug for personal use by a ratio of almost 2 to 1, according to a new Washington Post poll.

Washingtonians of every age, race and ethnicity — teenagers and seniors, blacks and whites — registered double-digit increases in support of legalization. Overall, 63 percent are in favor.

Even among those who oppose legalization, nearly half support relaxing punishment for marijuana possession to a fine of $100 or less.

The survey comes amid other moves across the country to legalize pot. This month, Colorado allowed the first sales of the drug for recreational use, and the state of Washington is preparing to follow suit.The poll places District residents significantly to the left of a closely divided nation. A new, separate Washington Post-ABC News national poll this week shows voters coast to coast split 49 percent to 48 percent on the issue..The numbers also came on the same day that a committee of D.C. lawmakers voted unanimously to take the first major step in decades to loosen the city’s marijuana laws by advancing a bill to reduce the city’s penalty for possession of pot from $1,000 and six months in jail to a $25 civil fine.